Hjulmand says Leverkusen still under construction
Bayer Leverkusen is still in the construction stage of building a competitive team and more time is needed to complete the project, head coach Kasper Hjulmand has revealed.
Leverkusen has seen a summer of changes at the club, with many of its domestic double-winning squad departing for pastures new.
The likes of Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Jonathan Tah and Granit Xhaka all left the club, while previous coach Xabi Alonso replaced Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid.
Leverkusen welcomed 17 new faces through the door, while also breaking its club-record transfer fee twice with the signings of Malik Tillman and Jarell Quansah.
Former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag also replaced Alonso. However, the Dutchman's tenure lasted just two Bundesliga matches.
The Werkself is 11th in the early Bundesliga standings after four games of the season, and travels to Millerntor-Stadion to face fifth-placed St Pauli this weekend.
Hjulmand's tenure has started with a win and a draw in the top-flight, but he insisted that more time is needed for his new-look team to gel – something Ten Hag also pointed out before he was uncermoniously fired.
"It is a process. We need time, and we need matches, and they are coming," Hjulmand said.
"We are very optimistic, and I think we have a great team. We can build an outstanding team, but we are still building it up.
"A lot of new players, new coaches, that's how it is. But in every game we have to get results."
Leverkusen is still finding its feet under Hjulmand, but its underlying statistics for the 2025-2026 campaign make for positive reading so far despite the results.
"We are in a good process," Hjulmand added. "Every single day we train, we play games. It gets better and better.
"A lot of new players, a lot of new positions for some players. They have to get to know each other.
"I think we have a lot of good minutes in the games but we can do better."
